


Cruel World: Children of the Districts

by TheAmazingJAJ



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Careers (Hunger Games), Children, District 1, District 10, District 11, District 12, District 2, District 3 (Hunger Games), District 4, District 5, District 6, District 7, District 8, District 9 (Hunger Games), Gen, Hunger Games
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-14 02:06:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16030757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAmazingJAJ/pseuds/TheAmazingJAJ
Summary: Children grow up in each District differently. Their very lives are determined by a number, showing which way they will come of age. But every child learns one thing in the districts: Remember the fallen. Remember those who weren't able to survive this cruel world.





	1. Children of One

**Author's Note:**

> I'm starting to dive into ao3, so this is another story from FF. Hope you guys enjoy it!

The most extraordinary thing about the children of this world is their talent of making even the grimmest situations normal. But even the Hunger Games shapes them in one way or another, and the way they are introduced to it is different in every District. Children are taught how to react to the Games, to mourn, to train, and to grow up differently in every District. From 1 to 12, however, one thing is consistently taught to the children: mourn the fallen. Mourn those who weren't able to survive this cruel world.

**District One**

When a child is born in District One, the family of the child comes bearing gifts for the child's christening, three beautiful gemstones representing characteristics that they see in the newborn. Amethysts are presented if they see the new child is quick of intuition, citrine for the promise of wealth and prosperity and, the most common gemstone brought to a christening, diamonds are presented for the glimmer of true beauty. They never bring emeralds, though. One emerald is presented to the mother for every successful birth, and they are put onto a necklace that the mother was given at her wedding. She only puts it on when she is expecting once again, or when she has suffered the loss of a child.

When the infant received their three gems, the three are taken away and put into a ring for the child to wear when they are grown. Only when the child is given the three gemstones, the mother chooses the name for her beautiful child. Once she gives the name to her child, the family rejoices, partying long into the night. After all, nothing is more important for a child than the choice of their name, their defining feature, their first impression, their first identity. A good name can make a beautiful child noticeable, but a wonderful name can make a child  _stunning._

The mothers and fathers of District One never send their children to school until they are five years old. They believe that the child needs time to be nurtured, to grow into their own selves, to embrace their own personality. So, the parents take care of their small children at home, teaching them their own stories of life, love, and loss. The citizens of District One believe in the values of their own children knowing their heritage. That way, the new generation is able to learn from the mistakes of their past and turn them into success in the future.

When a child in District One first asks why the kids on TV are bathed with red, the parents show them every family member that had been killed in the Games, all memorialized on a bronze plaque, decorated with the gemstones that they were presented at their own christening. The children learn to remember those names. They are taught to learn from the fallen, just as they learned from their heritage.

Class plays a large role in the lives of citizens of District One. The highest of the classes are the noblemen and women of the District, living in their grand mansions and being honoured with riches and power. The de Luces, the de Bois, the Ardens, the Kingsburys, all are known as the highest of the high, the leaders of the District, or "blue bloods", as the lower classes prefer to call them. They are the ones to own the factories, run the District, and bear the greatest children. The lucky child born into one of these noble families will never have to worry about working in his or her life. Instead, they will spend their lives locked away from the lower classes, trapped in their castles of power. The higher classes are never allowed to associate with the lower classes. Both are very loyal to who they are and despise the lives the others live. So, towns are divided by these rifts in District One, both sides forever doomed to be separated from the other.

The lower classes are easy to tell apart from the higher by their accent. The lower classes have lower, flatter voices than the lilting accents of the higher classes, so often mistaken for Capitolite accents. The lower classes are the workers of the District. Their men work the mines, slaving away and practically breaking their backs in the hope that they can find the big "payload" that will put them into comfort and relaxation for the rest of their lives. They never do. Their women set gems into necklaces in tiny, dark rooms, often going blind before the age of 50. The children fight to survive, struggling to find a place in this cruel world of misleading beauty. Yet, they do, finding their place through sheer willpower and spirit. That is why there are twice as many victors in District One from the lower classes than the higher. The higher classes have more access to resources, but the lower know how to fight for survival when the hunger sets in and when the fear breaks out. The higher classes know how to play, but the lower classes know how to  _win._

The first victor in District One came from the lower classes. Ben Quick broke the drought of victory in the Hunger Games in the 13th Hunger Games when he shocked Panem by poisoning the careers and taking home District One's very first victory. When he came back to District One, however, he started the very first training centre in the District, following the lead of District's Two and Four. Ben quickly realized that he needed to bring something to the career table that the others wouldn't have. District Two had fierce leaders, District Four had loyal survivors, but District One needed something to put them aside. So, he took the concept of beauty and pushed it into the core of the academy. The District One career would be a cunning tempter or temptress, using their wits as well as their strength to win the Games. They would not only be good fighters, but they would play the Games with their minds as well.

The academy in District One is ruled by the victors. Started by Ben Quick, it is mandatory for eight-year-olds to attend it for a week. The children are tested for their stamina and strength, their ability with weapons, and their beauty. If the victors see a spark of promise in the child, they are accepted into the academy. When a child is accepted into the academy, they receive an extra gemstone, a ruby, for their ring. The ruby represents the passion, the blood that the child will have to spill to gain the ultimate victory. It represents the sorrow that will change them forever, but also the hope for the future. When a child receives a ruby, they know that they have grown up. They have become their own person and must now rely on themselves to achieve their goals. There are no more children's games for the eight-year-olds when they receive the ruby. They now are trying to be representatives for their district. They will fight for their honour, for their ancestors, for themselves.

The academy is run as a day school, one concealed by the cover of being a school for "intuitive minds". The Capitol lets it go on, knowing that District One is a loyal district, and will produce entertaining tributes to watch. At the very least, they will produce a, say  _desirable_  victor for the Capitol, if not an entertaining one. Ben rules the academy with an iron fist. The lucky few who are accepted are taught everything they would have learned in school, but the afternoons are reserved for the weapons training. Potential volunteers are schooled on all weapons, with aptitude tests each year helping them focus on singular weapons. Attendees are also schooled in the art of beauty and fashion. District One is always expected to be the most beautiful District, so the future volunteers are pressured to make sure that they look their best at all times. Flaws aren't tolerated in the potential volunteers, in either beauty or character. Flaws make even the strongest gemstones crack, and District One could never tolerate a crack in their gemstones.

When a child is reaped or volunteers in District One, they are given one more gemstone, put onto a ring by their parents. This one symbolizes the characteristic that the parents want their child to hold onto in the arena. When a District One tribute is covered in blood, forced to kill a tribute, or scared to make a difficult decision, they finger that gemstone and take a deep breath. They will remember to hold onto that piece of home. They will be true to themselves, through life and death.

 


	2. Children of Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter in the books! On to District Three :D

**District Two**

When a wailing infant is born in District Two, the father first hands the mother a soft, sugar covered bun to eat. It is a strange custom, considering that the boys and girls of this district are raised to be as strong as stone, but the mother is strengthened by the bun. It soothes her nerves from going through labour, and she is able to make the final decision on the child's name. Children in District Two are named for the strength that their parents hope they shall possess. Once a child is named, the new family is allowed to return home. They will stay in their home with the small child, letting it get to know them throughout the night, and then announce the good news the next day. The child is theirs.

When a child in District Two turns two years old, the parents scurry around the house, trying to make it presentable. They clean the child and make sure that they are calm and polite for the Adjudicator. Today is the day to see if their child will be chosen to become a peacekeeper, and even perhaps a volunteer if they work hard enough, or are left alone, free to do what they want, but without the same respect that the first choice receives. When the Adjudicator arrives, he tests the child in small tests of the mind, the body, and most importantly, the resolve of the child. The parents wait at the side of the room with bated breath, perhaps praying for one option to be chosen. Once the Adjudicator is satisfied with the result, he will stand up and hand them a certificate of either steel or stone. If steel, the child is fated to become a peacekeeper. If stone, the path to their labouring life is already set. The Adjudicator pats the child on the head, gives them a lollipop - a rarity in District Two - and leaves the home, on to the next child. The parents then scoop the child up and murmur it sweet nothings, temporarily forgetting their fate. It is still their child, after all, and they will be proud of it, whether the fate they hoped for was chosen or not.

Parents in District Two inform their child about the Games quite early on. They believe that children must learn early, in order to be hardened to death. So, on the day they choose to reveal to the child about the Games, they unconsciously start to remove their influence from the child. It is now their turn to start to take care of themselves. It is now up to them to achieve their own fate. The parents will still be there, watching their child grow and be shaped into a young man or woman, but there is a new feeling of independence now. The child can stand on their own two feet, so they now must learn to walk on their own. They are ready to face life.

In District Two, all children go to the same schools for the first few years; one for the young five-year-olds, one for the six and seven-year-olds, and one last one for the eight-year-olds. The children are taught about Panem and it's history, learning the role District Two has played in their past. They learn the names of every victor: Clay, Natalia, Caleb, every five-year-old in District Two is able to at least quote these first three victors. They learn about the Hunger Games, what an honour it is to be chosen to volunteer, and how even the fallen still deserve respect. But when the children turn eight, they are separated from one another. The children of stone are ushered into the public schools, taught how to serve their district through hard work and talent, but the children of steel are taught how to serve Panem. They are taken into the Academy.

The Academy was founded by Caleb Stamos, the third victor of District Two. Although two preside before him, Caleb is perhaps the most known of the first twenty victors. After all, he did create the modern Academy of District Two. Caleb designed the Academy to be a test of resolve, of strength, of power for the young children. But they are not children any longer. They are now taught that they are recruits, for better or for worse, and they are trained in the arts of war.

The Academy can be brutal to recruits. Every day their minds are bombarded with facts and the ideology of District Two, expected to master subjects in weeks. There is no rest for these recruits, who are expected to, as well as four hours of weapons training and physical activity, volunteer at least fifty hours of their free time to help their communities. The Academy preaches that there is nothing wrong with hard work, and the recruits mock that as they pick up rubbish around town, trying to log in another hour of volunteer work. The smart ones get it done early, leaving the rest of their free time to train, but if a recruit isn't careful, they can find their last year crammed with volunteer work. A recruit who does not complete that requirement is forced out of the Academy, pushed away to the children of stone. If they are not willing to serve others, they are no good for District Two.

Six months before the Games, recruits of eligible volunteering age start to train harder. In this month, the twenty-four most promising ones of both genders will be chosen by the teachers and victors to compete for victory. These forty-eight will be taxed relentlessly in the ring, forced to evolve into something greater. Only the best become volunteers in District Two. Four months before the Games, these forty-eight will be put through four tests: A test of mental ability, tested in the classroom and by their past performances, a test of weapons strength, one that pits each volunteer against the strongest students, a test of physical ability, a relentless obstacle course that forces the students to adapt, and perhaps the strangest test of all, the test of luck. Students are given two doors to choose from, and they may only open one. If they choose the right one, they will be greeted with a key that shows that they are eligible to be chosen as a volunteer. If not, they are left to either bide their time for next year, or choose to become a teacher at the Academy. Even if they failed in their test of luck, they have proven their worth. No one may look down on these forty-six.

When a volunteer in District Two finally volunteers, ready to bring pride to their district, their families will come to visit them in the Goodbye rooms. One of the victors will hand them a small bowl of ashes, and they will anoint their son or daughter. The ashes are from the arena first victor of Two, Clay Wolfe, and show that the volunteer is something more. They have the mark of approval. If they do survive the Games, they will be anointed once more, but this time by Clay, to mark their new life. The victor has overcome the tests of the arena, and are deemed worthy of respect. In District Two, a victor is something more. They are almost exalted, proven by tests of fire and flame. Perhaps this is why the children of Two are deemed as bloodthirsty by others. But the knowledgeable few know the truth. They know that the children of Two are not fighting for themselves. They are fighting for the honour of Panem.


	3. Children of Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! I have Districts Four, Five, and Six finished, so those should be out shortly :D

**District 3**

When a child in District Three is born, the mother allows her infant to be taken by the nurses of the hospital for testing for any disorders that it might have. As it is tested, she talks quietly with the father about the names, weighing in on two names that they both like. They repeat them over and over, deciding on what they like, what works for their child, and what to honour the baby with. Once the baby is taken back and the results are in, the parents choose which of those two names will be the first, and which will be the middle. A nurse marks down the name choice on the birth certificate, hands it to the mother crisply, and bids her to leave if she is in condition to do so. There is no time to rest for these new parents.

In the first few months, the new parents keep to themselves. They impress themselves upon the child, teaching it who they are, who the child is, and their family. They make sure that a constant flow of words go into the child's head, letting it sink in for their child. As a result, children in Three often speak their first word at six months. It is usually Mother or Father, but parents can also expect words of their own professions. More children in Three have cited 'scientist' as one of the first three words that they had spoken in a school project than not.

Once the child speaks its first word, the parents celebrate. They invite all of the people that they can think of: their parents, coworkers, siblings, friends, and more to come to a large banquet. All invited come to the occasion, knowing that it is one of the most important moments for the child's life. The child is now able to begin truly learning. The parents usually have the banquet at a fancy restaurant, one to match the importance of the occasion, but many also make their own meals and serve them at home. The banquet is served in courses, and at every course, the attendees toast to the good health of the child. At the end of the banquet, all are happily drunk, walking or driving back to their homes while gushing about the child. Peacekeepers in Three have a special unit to find drunk drivers from these banquets. The cell is often full at the end of the night, with the prisoners sharing photos and talking happily about the child. They chat about the words the child knows to the peacekeeper, always up-playing the deeds of the child whose banquet they have attended. The peacekeepers smile and talk back, listening to the prisoners. Particularly kind peacekeepers can be invited to banquets as well by the attendees they had imprisoned.

As soon as the child speaks their first word, the parents start to teach them more. Knowledge is power in District Three, and every parent dreams of being the caretakers of Panem's next prodigy. Instead of watching television on the weekends, parents take turns teaching their child the alphabet. Instead of playing outside with their families, the child gets the chance to partake in a quiz-style game quizzing the child on what they know. Peer pressure runs rampant among parents of Three, with many resenting their neighbour for how quickly their child has learned how to read. They push their child harder, making sure that they could absorb all the knowledge that they can. If they don't, they'll already be left behind by the rest.

When the child is in their fourth year, they are sent to school in the autumn. They are walked to the school by their parents, who make sure that one of them is on hand to take the child home on that all-important first day. When the child comes back, they chat excitedly about what they had learned that day. The parents smile and pat their heads happily, knowing that their child has done well. They have raised another productive member of Three.

Although sports are looked upon as unnecessary by citizens of Three, there is a certain aura of interest around them. Kids who are able to run are respected by their peers as much as those who can recite their times tables correctly by the age of six. Perhaps it has to do with the odds around the sport, or perhaps it is because citizens of Three crave the action and simplicity of sports after their stressful jobs, but District Three is home to the biggest sports centre in Panem. Those who make it big as an athlete play on city teams, traveling the district to play other teams. Citizens of District Three are very loyal towards their hometowns, celebrating their wins happily and explaining away losses through science and probability. Players are looked upon as heroes, with kids all over the district easily able to recite the statistics of their favourite players. The biggest of all of the sports in District Three is horse racing: Over 20,000 citizens attended the city of Depmond's annual Depmond Extravaganza, where the best of the best horses raced through the track to take home the 50,000 sesterce crown. Last year's winner was the horse Vagabond, which led to the 12% rise of names starting with the letter V in District Three.

Before a child is eight years old, the parents decide to tell them about the Hunger Games. They hand the child a small book detailing the Games, and wait in the living room, letting their child absorb the information. When the child is satisfied, they walk back into the room and hand the book back to their parents, who nod solemnly and store it in their bedroom for another day.

School is competition in District Three, with every slipup decreasing the chances of that all-important scholarship gleaming at the end of high school, waiting to be snatched up by the highest grades. Kids openly battle each other for this chance to study in the Capitol, the best school in all of Panem, with lockers being vandalized just to scare off potential threats for the scholarship. But when there is a birthday in District Three, it is all forgotten. The child goes home and celebrates with their family, recounting calmly all of the good moments of the last year. They write it in a small notebook and burn it, letting the ashes bless the new year. The day is theirs.

If a child is reaped in District Three, their parents mourn. They forbid anyone in their families to tell them the odds of their child's chances, instead telling each other silently that their child can come home. They make sure to let their child feel safe, secure, and above all loved. They will wait at home, watching their child fight through the Games. District Three has a special assistance allowance for parents of those reaped, supplying them with money and making sure that the two will still keep their jobs when the Games end. When a child does die, the parents remain silent, talking about every moment that they can remember with their child. They mark the good, the bad, and the beautiful all down in a notebook and put it with the body of the child, which is cryogenically frozen in the vaults of District Three. If science ever reaches the point of being able to resurrect the dead, these tributes will be the first to be resurrected.

The odds of victory are few in District Three, with many more children having their cannon boom than taste victory. But when a tribute wins for District Three, the district rejoices. Businesses are shut down, factories close, and the district goes parading around the streets, logic and manners forgotten. They have a victor! They have a victor!


End file.
